Changing Fate
by PhoenixRising19
Summary: When Ron and Hermione find themselves stuck years in the past, they have no choice but to go to school with the Marauders. Can they make it back to the future without any harm done? Or will they end up changing fate? Hermione/Sirius Not DH compatible!
1. Dinner Plans

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is not me. Nor am I she. Therefore, I don't own Harry Potter. Off we go!

_Burch the Brilliant- Burch was the keeper for the Tornadoes in the early 1980's. She was the first ever keeper to both block twenty goals and score two goals in the same game. Unfortunately, during a game against the Chudley Cannons Burch was blown off course by a strong wind. She disappeared into the woods nearby and has not been seen since._

Ron smiled as he finished reading the back of the Chocolate Frog card. He already had several of Burch, but he pocketed it in his robe anyway. He could still remember opening his first card when he was just four. It was of Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and one of the most respected wizards throughout the world. Ron thought back to that time, when the whole earth seemed to be at peace. He wished he could bring that feeling back, but with Voldemort getting stronger everyday, it seemed impossible. Sometimes, Ron even wished he had homework to keep his mind off of everything that was going on. He had nothing to do besides help the Order after he graduated from Hogwarts last year.

Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't letting graduating stop her from learning as much as possible. Despite earning 5 Outstandings on the N.E.W.T. tests last year, she still felt as though she could have done better. This time, she had her nose buried in Countercurses and Jinxes: Desperate Times Call for Desperate Spells. Ron smiled; he had liked Hermione since third year, and had finally gotten the nerve to tell her so the year before. They weren't officially together, but Hermione did seem to be friendlier with him.

Ron watched as Harry fixed himself a cup of tea. Harry had been in a terrible state lately; after losing Sirius Black, his godfather and father figure, he hadn't really been up to do much of anything enjoyable. Harry spent all of his time trying to figure out ways to get revenge on Voldemort, but to no avail. Voldemort was becoming too powerful. He had already worked his way into the Ministry of Magic and was starting to gain power at Hogwarts. The Order of the Phoenix, a secret society whose purpose was to take down the Dark Lord, had been working day and night, but still had not found a way of stopping him.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order, had been particularly packed the last few weeks. Members of the society were constantly coming in and out, discussing the latest whereabouts of Voldemort and plans on what to do next. Today, however, the house was quiet. Besides Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the only creature there was Kreacher, Harry's house elf. He had belonged to the Black family, but after Sirius died, he left both Kreacher and the house to Harry. Ron drifted back to the summer before his fifth year of school, when he and his family spent weeks cleaning up the old house, ridding it of dark objects and unwanted monsters. The one piece they had not yet managed to dispose of was a portrait of Sirius' mother, which hung in the main living room.

The doorbell rang, at which the curtains covering the portrait of Mrs. Black promptly swung open.

"MUDBLOODS, TRAITORS, FILTHY SCUM DIRTYING MY HOME AND INSULTING THE BLACK NAME!" the portrait screamed. Hermione immediately jumped up to answer the door.

"Bloody hell, not again! Won't that woman ever shut up?" Ron said as he and Harry struggled to close the curtains and silence the ear-splitting howl. As soon as they had managed to stop the wailing, Hermione re-entered along with Arthur Weasley, Ron's father.

"Evening, Dad," Ron said. His father did not look too well, though that was nothing unusual, given the circumstances. Ever since he had been attacked three years ago by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, Arthur had become increasingly more frail and weak. However, his appearance and physical state did not stop him from being his usual happy self.

"Good evening, Ron! How was everyone's day?" Arthur took off his cloak and sunk into the nearest arm chair.

"Oh, you know, finding ways to kill the most evil wizard of all time, searching for parts of his soul, the usual." Harry said, though Arthur did not notice the hint of sarcasm in his voice. "How was work, Mr. Weasley?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. There was a case of a muggle toaster turning bread into pygmy puffs, but that's about it. It's incredible; the jokes wizards come up with to pull on muggles these days. I swear they are just getting sillier and sillier." Lowering his voice slightly, Arthur leaned towards the trio, who was now sitting on a couch facing him. He looked around as if someone might overhear, and then proceeded to say, "I talked to Kingsley Shacklebolt today. He said that from an inside source, he was able to find out some bad news. It seems as though You-Know-Who has been successful in creating two more horcruxes. This time, he's not telling anybody what or where they are, including his own Death Eaters."

Mr. Weasley waited a moment for this news to sink in, though no one seemed to want to speak. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"Well, it's not as if we were about to destroy him for good, is it? Now we've just got two extra to find. Shouldn't be that hard." He managed to sound confident, but he could not stop the slightly defeated look from showing up on his face. Just then, the doorbell rang. This time, it was Mr. Weasley and Hermione who got up to close the screaming portrait of Mrs. Black, while Ron answered the door.

He opened the door for Tonks, a young witch who was an auror and a member of the Order. Today, her hair was wavy and jet black, compared to her usual pink spikes.

"Hello, Ron!" she said, stepping inside. Tonks screwed up her face when she heard Mrs. Black's wails. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "Did I do that? I'm always forgetting that I have to knock. I wish the Floo Network wasn't being watched. That would make life so much simpler."

"There are lots of things that would make life simpler, Tonks," Harry said, with a slight smile on his face.

"Wotcher, Harry. How have you two been? Getting on okay?" she said as they made their way to the sitting room. Ron's ears were still faintly ringing even though Mrs. Black was now quiet.

"Arthur!" Tonks said when he and Hermione walked in and joined them, the smile wiping off of her face. "Have you heard? About the horcruxes?"

"Afraid so, Kingsley's just told me." Mr. Weasley said. "I suppose though, as Harry said, there's nothing to do but just try to find them like the others." Arthur gave a deep sigh. There was another short silence that followed.

"Well, we were just about to eat. Would you two like to stay for dinner?" Hermione finally asked.

"I would love to, but I best be going," Arthur said. "I need to get back to Molly; she will be worried sick if I'm gone too long. It's no wonder she's so worried, considering that clock she carries around. Good day to you all, I expect that I will be seeing you soon." With that, Arthur retrieved his cloak and left.

"I am free to stay! Remus had been planning on coming over for dinner, but he's out late working again. Poor thing, he had been working nonstop since Sirius…" Tonk's voice trailed off. Ron looked over at Harry; his face had gone pale. They had never really talked about the night that Sirius fell through the veil, as it was too painful to think about for all of them.

"Then let's eat!" Ron exclaimed. They had a rather enjoyable dinner. In the past year, Hermione's cooking skills had greatly improved. After finishing her meal, Tonks got up. "Thank you, Hermione, for the delicious meal!"

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay for a glass of butterbeer?" Hermione asked.

"No, I really need to get back to the Ministry." Tonks said. "I have some more business to discuss with Shacklebolt." Ron led Tonks to the door. Before she left, she whispered to him, "Please, watch Harry. He's been so down since Sirius, and then Dumbledore. Just take care of him, okay?" Ron nodded his head, and she was off.

He returned to the living room. Hermione had already returned to her book, oblivious to the rest of the world. He looked over at Harry; he was still obviously in a bad mood from hearing Sirius' name.

"I think I'll just get to bed." Harry said, as he got up and walked upstairs. Ron could hear the door slam behind him.

Hermione closed her book. "Two more horcruxes. I can't believe it." She said.

"Neither can I." Ron sat down by the fire. How on earth was Voldemort able to make two more?

They sat in silence for several minutes, before Ron heard a tap on the window. Looking to see what it was, he crossed the room. Outside, his owl, Pigwidgeon, was carrying a rather small envelope in his talons. Ron let Pig in, and he began to flutter throughout the room, hooting happily.

"Bloody bird," Ron said as he tried to catch Pig and untie the letter from his leg. Once Ron had the envelope, he resettled himself in the chair by the fire, and flipped the letter over. In a handwriting that Ron did not recognize, Ron read the front:

_Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger_

_Sitting Room_

_Number 12 Grimmauld Place_

_London, England_

"Hey, Hermione," Ron said. "Looks like we've got ourselves a letter."


	2. The Letter

**A/N: I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I try to be. I am just a silly muggle living in her world.**

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><p>"A letter? Who is it from?" She got out of her chair to investigate the message. They had not received a letter in quite some time; everyone in the Order knew that letters were being intercepted and read by the Ministry, most of who were controlled by the Death Eaters.<p>

"I have no idea." Ron said.

"Well, go on, open it!"

Ron tore open the envelope at these words, curious as to who would need to write to them at this time of night.

_Dear Hermione and Ron,_

_I hope you both are well. There is something that I need to discuss with you. However, due to the circumstances, we need to meet in person. Please come to my office at 9:00 A.M. sharp tomorrow morning. The password is "Hippogriff". I will see you soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_P.S. Please do not mention to Harry that you are meeting me._

"Professor McGonagall? Why would she need to speak to us?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "But I am sure we will find out tomorrow."

Hermione glanced at Ron, who was sitting next to her at the breakfast table. He had incredible eyes, and his hair, glowing bright red, was very attractive. Hermione hadn't noticed any of this until her seventh year at Hogwarts, when Ron told her that he liked her. She smiled; that memory seemed so long ago. She wished that he would get the courage to officially ask her out. Hermione had been throwing him hints; sitting a little closer to him on the couch and giving extra compliments. However, he didn't seem to be getting the picture.

They finished breakfast and were almost out the door when Harry stopped them.

"What are you two up to?" He asked.

"Oh—er—umm… What?" was Ron's reply.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Ron!" Hermione threw him a glare. He had never been very good at lying. "Well, we were planning on surprising you, but we were going to Diagon Alley because we wanted to get you a present." Hermione had to admit that she wasn't the best liar either, at least when it came to Harry.

"Yeah, uh, that's it. Present." Ron muttered.

"My birthday was over a month ago." Harry said, looking slightly confused.

"You've been a little down lately, Harry. We just wanted to cheer you up." Ron said.

"Oh, well, if that's the case," Harry smiled. "I could use some more polish for my broom."

"Ok, we'll remember that." Hermione said. They snuck through the door before Harry had the chance to ask them any more questions.

It was quite a gloomy day, considering it was still August. The sky was overcast, and was threatening to rain at any moment.

"A present? Really?" Ron said.

"Well, you weren't exactly coming up with any brilliant ideas! Let's just get going, alright?" Ron nodded, and they apparated to Hogsmeade.

No matter how many times she apparated, Hermione still could not get over the feeling it gave her. It made her feel as though her stomach was doing back flips and her heart was in her throat.

When she opened her eyes again, they were in Hogsmeade, the village just outside of Hogwarts. She looked at her watch; it was 8:50.

"Come on, we've got to get going." She looked over at him; he was standing outside of Zonko's Joke Shop, eyeing a quill that squirted some sort of purple liquid at anyone who tried to use it. "Honestly, Ron, let's move!" Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him along towards the entrance to Hogwarts.

She hadn't been in the castle for over a year. Memories came flooding back to her at a rapid pace. Fighting a dangerously large mountain troll, brewing polyjuice potion, saving Sirius from the Dementor's kiss. She paused while tears flooded her eyes. She missed Sirius so much; he was almost as much of a father figure to her as he was to Harry. It was true that he was often irresponsible and loved getting into trouble, but she missed him none the less.

"Hermione, what was the password again?" Ron asked. They were already at the entrance to McGonagall's office, and she hadn't even noticed they were moving.

"Hippogriff!" The gargoyles sprung aside, revealing a moving spiral staircase that lead to the office. Hermione and Ron climbed the steps, anxious about what McGonagall would need to talk to them about. Ron knocked on the door at the top of the staircase.

"Come in, come in." The sound of Professor McGonagall's voice was oddly comforting. Hermione thought back to when McGonagall called her name to be sorted into her house. The sorting hat had seriously considered putting her in Ravenclaw, but she was able to convince it to put her in Gryffindor, "Where dwell the brave at heart".

"Would you like a cup of tea?" McGonagall pulled Hermione out of the daydream she had been put in.

"No, thank you. So, Professor, you wanted to talk to us?"

"Yes. Why don't you take a seat? I think you might need to." She motioned towards two chairs across from her desk. Hermione and Ron sat. She glanced at Ron; he was staring at a portrait of Dumbledore, who was still sleeping in his frame.

"Well, let's just get straight to it, shall we? As you both know, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gaining more power everyday," McGonagall said. "As you also know, the Order is trying every possible action to stop him. We are running out of options. Hermione, do you still have the time turner I gave you in third year?"

"Yes." Hermione wondered where she could possibly be going with this.

"Good. You will need it, should you accept this… mission. I am about to ask you to do something that could have dire consequences. It is dangerous, risky, and there are many things that might go wrong. Should everything work, however, we might be able to stop the Dark Lord before he has a chance to come back.

"I am asking you to go back in time and kill V-Voldemort before he has a chance to kill Lily and James Potter. Then, you would need to find all of the horcruxes and destroy them before he has a chance to make more. This could change all of our lives as we currently know them, but it might be worth it. When, and if, you have succeeded at this task, I have found away for you to return to this time. With the help of Severus, we were able to brew a potion that would return you to the present. Keep in mind, however, that when you return, many things will be different. In fact, in the case of you two, everything you know could be completely altered, given your relationships with Potter. I'll let you two have a minute to talk it over. I must go talk to Filch about something, but I will expect an answer when I return." With that, she left the office.

Hermione and Ron sat in silence. Was it worth it, to change history and stop Voldemort? What would happen to her and Ron if they did? They wouldn't be themselves. They might not be friends with Harry. Going back in time could wreck both of their lives. What about Sirius, though, and Dumbledore? Lily and James? If Hermione killed Voldemort first, they would still be alive. They would be safe.

"Ron, we need to do this." She said, before she could change her mind again.

"Are you bloody insane? Think about this, Hermione! Everything we know wouldn't exist! Our entire past would be different!"

"What about other people's past, Ron? We could save hundreds of lives by stopping Voldemort! What would Dumbledore say in this situation? He would say that we need to think of the greater good, not just ourselves."

"I don't know. I mean, would we even know Harry if we did this?"

"Maybe not, but it's worth it. Don't be selfish, Ron. Harry would get to know his parents! That makes this entire thing worth doing right there."

Ron said nothing else, still staring at the portrait of Dumbledore when McGonagall reentered.

"Well, have you had a chance to talk about it?" McGonagall said.

"Ron?" said Hermione, trying to get him to look at her.

"Yes," Ron said. "We'll do it."

"Alright then," Said McGonagall. "Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, I would like you to meet me here again. Hermione, please bring your time turner. Both of you will need to pack a trunk of clothes and any other necessities that you feel you may need while on this trip." She leaned in a little and softened her voice. "I am very proud of you two. You are very selfless to be doing this. Many of the greatest wizards have not been brave enough to do what you are about to. I will see you tomorrow."

McGonagall led Hermione and Ron out the door and down the staircase. They said their goodbyes, leaving Hermione and Ron to walk back to Hogsmeade. The pair apparated home, this time without window shopping at Zonko's. Stepping through the door to home, Hermione prayed that she would not see Harry, for she knew that she would not be able to look at him in the eye. Luck was not on her side, however; he was in the sitting room, reading Hogwarts, A History.

_Oh, sure, _now_ he decides to read it,_ Hermione thought to herself. _Now that I will never be able to talk to him about it._

"Well, how did it go?" Harry said, setting the book down. "Find anything good?"

Sure enough, tears began to form in Hermione's eyes. "Oh, no, they were out of polish. I am going to go back next week, though. They said that they will be getting in another shipment any day now."

"You don't need to do that," Harry said. "I am perfectly happy the way I am, with you two. Plus, it's not exactly like my firebolt is getting really roughed up, is it? I mean, I haven't even flown in weeks."

"No, no, I am going to get you that polish!" With that, Hermione left the room. She couldn't stand to see Harry any longer. She made her self a strong cup of tea and retired to her room, leaving Harry and Ron to spend some one-on-one time.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you very much to my first reviewer, sonea91! Also, a huge shout out to Will love ever come, who was the first to add this as a favorite story.  
><strong>

**I decided not to wait too long to post the next chapter; I was too excited about publishing! I've got about 7 chapters lined up and waiting to go, so updates should not take too long should people want to see them.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. If you loved it, liked it, or thought you just wasted ten minutes of your life let me know!  
><strong>


	3. Time Turning

Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form J.K. Rowling.

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><p>The evening with Harry went far too fast for Ron. They talked about everything from quidditch to the Order. They spent a while talking about girls; Harry was madly in love with Ron's sister, Ginny. Before he knew it, Harry was saying that he was ready to get to bed.<p>

"Sweet dreams, Ron." Harry said, before trudging up the stairs with heavy eye lids.

"Yeah," Ron said. "Sweet dreams."

Ron sat by the fire most of the night, thinking about how his life was about to change. The possibility of not knowing Harry terrified him; the last eight years of his life had been spent with him at Ron's side. Before Ron could have second thoughts, he too went up bed, worrying about what troubles the next day would bring.

The following morning, Ron came down the stairs to find Hermione already dressed and making breakfast.

"What are you doing already up? It's six o'clock in the morning!" Ron said.

"I couldn't sleep," Said Hermione.

"I know the feeling," Ron said. "Are you packed yet?"

"Yes, and you?"

"Not the least bit," said Ron with a slight grin.

"I should have known," Hermione said in an exasperated voice, though she was also smiling. "Here, you take care of the eggs, I'll go pack up your things."

She left him standing in the kitchen, watching the eggs fry in the pan. He finished cooking the eggs and had barely started on the sausages when Harry came down.

"Ron? You're cooking?" Harry said. "I must still be dreaming…"

"Ha ha, very funny." Said Ron. "Now sit down and eat, before I decide to throw your food out."

Obediently, Harry sat, looking cautiously at the food as though it could be poisonous. He slowly brought a bite of egg to his mouth. The second the food touched his mouth, Harry began to choke. Ron immediately dropped the sausages on the ground and ran to him, before he realized that Harry and begun to laugh.

"Bloody hell, Harry! Look at what you made me do! Now I have to start all over."

Harry sniggered while Ron threw him a rather rude hand gesture. Ron would have normally ignored him for several hours after something like this, but considering the events of the day, he decided that wouldn't be the greatest idea. He even managed to smile, watching Harry still snicker.

"Okay, Ron, you're all set." Hermione said as she walked back into the kitchen. She froze when she saw Harry.

"Set for what?" Harry asked, once again confused.

Ron, thinking quick on his feet, replied, "Hermione was helping me organize my room. It's been an absolute mess lately."

"Since when have you cared how messy your room is?" Harry said. Ron was trying to think of something to say until Harry laughed, and Ron realized he was just joking.

"I need to go down to Diagon Alley to pick up some parchment and a new quill after breakfast. Do you want to come?" said Harry.

Ron took a deep breath; that meant that this very well could be the last time he saw Harry as his best friend. "No," he finally said. "I've got some things I need to do."

"How about you, Hermione?" Harry and Ron both looked over at her. Ron could see the tears in her eyes as she replied.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I need to send a letter to my parents. I haven't written in over a week."

"That's alright. I'll just see you two tonight, then." Harry said.

The trio ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Was this the last time they would ever be together again? When breakfast was finished, Harry got to his feet. "Well, see you guys later." He was walking towards the door when Hermione ran after him.

"Harry, wait!" She screamed, making the portrait of Mrs. Black start up again. Neither Ron nor Hermione cared, though.

Hermione pulled Harry into a hug that almost looked like a death choke. When she finally let go of him enough for him to breathe, he asked, "What is this all about?"

"Nothing, really," Hermione said, clearly choked up. "I just wanted to let you know how much I love you, Harry."

"Er, I love you, too, Hermione." Before Harry could say anything else, Hermione burst into tears and ran out of the room.

Harry looked over at Ron quizzically. "What's with her?"

"I've always told you, she's mental." Ron said, trying to keep a smile on his face. To be honest, he felt as though he was about to cry himself. Harry laughed.

"See you."

"Yeah, see you." Harry was gone. Ron was not sure if he would see him again as a friend. It was then that he noticed that the painting was still screaming. He muttered something under his breath that sounded extremely like "Bloody hell" and set to work on closing the curtains.

The next hour seemed to fly by. Before Ron knew it, he and Hermione were once again apparating to Hogsmeade. Ron walked up the steps to Hogwarts as though it were a death march. They reached McGonagall's office in no time flat.

"Hippogriff!" Hermione said as the staircase appeared. The pair walked up as slowly as they could, considering the staircase was moving. Before they could even knock on the door, Professor McGonagall opened it.

"There you two are! Come inside, we don't have much time." McGonagall said. "Now, before we go through with this, I need to discuss a few more things with you." She took a deep breath. "You are both still sure that you want to do this?" Hermione and Ron nodded. "Okay then. Professor Snape has brewed a batch of the potion that should be able to take you back to this day once you have completed your task." She handed Ron a small vial filled with gold, sparkling liquid, which he promptly pocketed in his robe. "If anything should go wrong, and you find yourself needing more, I also had Snape make a copy of the instructions." McGonagall pulled a rather large piece of parchment out of her robe and handed it to Hermione.

Looking over the instructions, Hermione's mouth dropped. "Professor, this would take months to brew! Not to mention how rare the ingredients are."

"I know," said McGonagall. "But it's the only way to get you two back once you have used the time turner. Speaking of which, the time turner presents another problem. As you know, Hermione, time turners are only generally used to go several hours back. Not too many wizards have tried to go back days with a time turner, let alone years. The possibility is very likely that something could occur and you would end up in the wrong time. Should this happen, you will need to wait it out until you reach the day that Voldemort tries to kill the Potters." Ron was shocked; he didn't realize that so much could go wrong.

"I have thought long and hard about what you should do if you find yourself waiting. The best idea that I can come up with is to have yourselves disguised as Ministry workers. Obviously, it's highly unusual for two workers to show up out of thin air, so you'll need to pull some strings and make up some stories. Whatever it takes so that no one finds out who you really are." She paused, looking Hermione and Ron both in the eyes. Could she tell how nervous he was?

"You are absolutely sure that you would like to go through with this?" said McGonagall.

"Yes, absolutely." Hermione said.

"Well then, I suppose we might as well get going. Hermione, the time turner." Hermione pulled a golden necklace with an hour glass out of her pocket.

"Let's see," said Hermione. "We need to go back 18 years. That's a lot of turns, Professor."

"I know, but there is no other way." Hermione put the necklace around both her and Ron's necks. Ron grabbed the two trunks of clothes, while Hermione prepared to initiate the time travel.

"I would just like to let you know how proud I am of you. You have no idea how much this will mean to our entire world." McGonagall said, in the softest voice Ron had ever heard from her.

Before he had a chance to say anything in response, Hermione began to twist the hour glass. With every turn, the room began to spin faster. Ron was starting to get dizzy. He closed his eyes, but quickly reopened them when he heard a shatter. The hour glass had split in two and fallen to the ground. Hermione and Ron could do nothing but look at each other in terror while McGonagall's office spun around and around. Had they gone back years? Decades? Centuries?

Finally, the spinning began to slow down, and Ron dared himself to look around. It took a moment for his eyes to focus. When they did, he immediately began to blink, not believing himself. There, standing in front of them, was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

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><p>AN: Thank you all so much for the support! I love logging on and seeing a new review :) Sorry this is such a slow chapter, I promise it will start to speed up soon. Read and Review, por favor?


	4. Welcome to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling! Anything you may recognize in this story belongs to her.

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><p>"Merlin's beard! What are you two doing in my office?" Neither Hermione nor Ron were capable of answering. Dumbledore looked somewhat younger, but still fairly old. His beard was shorter, and his wrinkles were less defined. <em>This is good,<em> Hermione thought. _It means that we haven't gone back a hundred years in the past._

"Well, I would like an explanation! Who are you? I don't believe I have seen you here before." Dumbledore looked concerned, but also slightly amused.

"I—well—er—uh…" Ron could barely stammer out a word at a time.

"It's a long story, Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said, saving Ron the embarrassment of having to string two syllables together.

"I have time to listen. Please, take a seat." Said Dumbledore. Hermione looked around the office. It was basically the same as Hermione remembered when she was at school. The massive cabinet which she knew to hold a pensive, the sorting hat, slumbering in its glass case, and Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix. Fawkes was by far the most beautiful bird Hermione had ever seen; his red and gold plumage shimmered in the ray of moonlight coming from the ceiling.

"Licorice snap?" Dumbledore motioned towards a large bowl with assorted sweets. Ron began to reach for one, when Hermione answered for him.

"No thank you. Well, I might as well cut to the chase. My name is Hermione Granger. This is my friend, Ron Weasley. We came from the future."

"This much I could tell, Ms. Granger, by the shattered time turner lying at your feet. Please, continue."

"Well, we were sent by Professor McGonagall on a mission. You see, in the future, our world is not looking very good. Lord Voldemort is gaining power at a rapid pace, and the Ministry is crumbling."

"Voldemort, did you say?" Dumbledore said, looking much more worried when he had when they landed in his office. "How far from the future have you come?"

"We came from the year 1997, sir." Said Ron, finally gaining the courage to speak.

"My goodness, 21 years." Dumbledore had a rather worried expression on his face, which Hermione had never seen before.

"21 years, sir? So, we are in the year 1976?" Hermione asked.

"You are correct, Ms. Granger. August 31st, 1976. Term starts tomorrow." Dumbledore said as he pointed toward a rather large calendar. Sure enough, the number '31' was glowing.

"Hermione, what are we going to do?" Ron said, not even attempting to hide the panic in his voice. "We can't just stay here for three and a half years! Let's take the potion now."

Ron reached into his pocket, searching for the small vial McGonagall had given them. His eyes widened as he pulled a small pile of broken glass, dripping from it a gold liquid.

"Holy Hippogriff, what are we going to do?" Ron began to panic even harder. He got up from his chair and paced back and forth.

"We can make more of the potion. In the meantime, Ronald, we will stay here," Hermione said. "That is what McGonagall asked us to do, and as we are here on her orders, we had better follow them."

"Minerva McGonagall?" Dumbledore asked. "She sent you here?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione answered. She wasn't sure how to tell Dumbledore that, in the future, he had been murdered. "She is the headmistress."

"I suppose that means I am no longer able to fulfill my duties to this school." Dumbledore said matter of factly, as though he was talking about a new flavor of Berty Bott's Every Flavored Beans he had discovered.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione said, for lack of anything better to say. Ron was still getting over the shock that they had gone three years too far back.

"No matter," said Dumbledore, still speaking in a calm manner. "Every wizard meets his final day at some point, and may I daresay that I have had my fair share of close calls."

"Yes, well, we have another problem, Sir, which needs to be sorted out very quickly," Hermione said, not sure what to make of Dumbledore's odd comment on death.

"What would that be, Ms. Granger?"

"As we have already told you, Ron and I will need to stay for several years, while remaining somewhat undercover. If anyone, such as Voldemort, got word of what we were doing, we would have no chance."

"Naturally," said Dumbledore. "We will need to think of a solution."

"Professor McGonagall suggested that we disguised ourselves as Ministry workers," Hermione said.

"Hmm, I suppose that is not too bad of an idea. However, it will definitely require hard work so that suspicions do not rise."

"Sir, I have an idea," Ron said, finally deciding to speak up. "What if we stayed here, as students?" Hermione looked at Ron with an impressed expression on her face; Ron was by no means stupid, but he generally was not the first to come up with brilliant ideas such as this.

"Excellent idea, Mr. Weasley!" Dumbledore exclaimed, which made Ron's ears turn a violent shade of red. "However, there is a flaw to this plan. Students do not normally come late into their education."

Hermione thought of an idea. "Maybe we could pretend to be foreign exchange students."

"Yes, another brilliant idea." Said Dumbledore. "We have always been on good terms with Beauxbatons, perhaps you could pretend to be from there."

"Sir, neither of us know a word of French, I'm afraid. That might not be to convincing," Hermione said.

"Good point. Well then, you should probably be from another English speaking country. Hmm, you could be from Bryls. Yes, I think that would work."

"Bryls?" Ron asked. "I've never heard of that before."

"Honestly, Ron, haven't you ever picked up a book?" Hermione said. "Bryls Academy is a school similar to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, but for American witches and wizards."

"Oh, okay," said Ron, realization striking him. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Well, that is settled then," Dumbledore said. "Now, what year should we put you in?"

"That's a good question," Said Hermione. "We do, of course, want to have as much time at this school as possible, to avoid having to go to the ministry. However, we obviously look too old to be anything younger than a sixth year. So, how about that?"

"Sixth year it is," Said Dumbledore, looking pleased that they were sorting things out so quickly. "As for your house?"

"Gryffindor! I will not be in any house but Gryffindor." Ron said.

"I suppose the same goes for you, too, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore said. Hermione nodded.

"Now that everything is in order," Dumbledore said as he got up from the armchair situated behind his desk. "I will need to talk to Professor McGonagall and inform her of our situation. You are free to come with me, however, I daresay you two are tired from a long day." Ron enforced his assumption with a yawn which he poorly tried to stifle.

"I trust that you know where the Gryffindor common room is. I believe the password at the moment is 'Bludger'. Good night to the both of you." With this, he left the room.

"Quite the day, huh? Come on, let's go, I absolutely need some sleep." Ron said, this time not trying to hide his yawn.

They walked through the familiar halls, luggage trailing them several feet behind in the air. Not much had changed in the corridors; the same suits of armor lined the walls, the same tapestries still covered the curtains, and the same pictures still hung on the walls, bouncing from frame to frame. It wasn't until they reached the fifth floor that they ran into any trouble.

"Oooh, new students! Though they don't look like ickle firsties," said a familiar cackling tone. Hermione looked up, seeing Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist, look at them with a curious expression on his face.

"Back off, Peeves," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "I am in absolutely no mood to deal with you right now."

"The new girl has quite the temper, but how did she know my name?" Peeves asked, talking to no one in particular.

"Peeves, I'm warning you. I will get the Bloody Baron if I need to." Hermione struck a nerve with this sentence. Peeves blew her a particularly nasty raspberry, then flew off, probably looking for chaos to cause somewhere else.

When they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, Ron coughed loudly to wake the Fat Lady up. The Fat Lady, who was the person in the portrait guarding the entrance, looked very confused.

"I don't believe I have seen you before. Are you sure you two are Gryffindors?"

"Absolutely," said Hermione. "The password is 'Bludger'".

"Very well, but I hope you do realize that you have arrived a day early." The Fat Lady said as she swung the portrait open, revealing a tunnel for them to crawl through.

As with the rest of the castle, the common room looked the same. The only difference was that there was a much shorter banned items list on the notice board. Ron headed straight up to bed, though Hermione decided to stay and sit by the fire.

She let her mind roam freely. She thought about Harry, and how they were going to change his life for the better. He would be able to have a normal childhood, to grow up with his own parents. Harry would get to truly know Lily and James. _Lily and James!_ Hermione thought. She then let out a slight scream.

Ron came rushing down the stairs, looking frightened. "Hermione, what is it? What's wrong?"

"R-Ron," Hermione stammered. "W-We're… We're… We're going to school with the Marauders!"

* * *

><p>AN: I know, I'm a bad person. It's been entirely too long. My excuse - I know, I know! Bear with me- is that I've been too focused on the real world lately, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming out. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

My other, less valid excuse is that I've been putting all my effort into another story. This story, which I have been working on since NaNoWriMo, is a monster. Unfortunately, I made a promise to myself to not post it until it is entirely finished and edited. I promise I will not neglect this story anymore, though!

I really appreciate all of you who have continued to review and encouraged me to update. Truly, you make my day.

Anyways, my schedule has mellowed out and I should now be able to post more regularly. I only have several more chapters stored up (this was originally written about a year ago). Hopefully, writing fresh material will motivate me to post more!

Thank you to all of you lovely people who have read thus far!


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